X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - Grading+Discussion **SPOILERS!**

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by StarTrek1701, May 31, 2011.

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How Much Did You Enjoy X-MEN: FIRST CLASS?

Poll closed Oct 28, 2011.
  1. A+ (Great Movie!)

    73 vote(s)
    35.6%
  2. A (Entertained a lot!)

    93 vote(s)
    45.4%
  3. B (Was okay, not bad)

    30 vote(s)
    14.6%
  4. C (Below expectations)

    6 vote(s)
    2.9%
  5. D (Very bad)

    2 vote(s)
    1.0%
  6. F (Intolerable, want money back)

    1 vote(s)
    0.5%
  1. KB24

    KB24 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 31, 2002
    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Briefly, you can see cerebro takes some damage so maybe there is a later together rebuilding? I liked the second cameo, not the first.

    I have to get my head on straight, but I loved it and the film exceed my expectations. Fassbender was totally in a Bondian Origins movie, Bacon was classic. Honestly, this is my initial assessment which hasn't taken total time to dissect, but if this years Awards weren't so packed already, I might think there is an adapted nomination or some supporting nods here.

    This was indeed like Batman Begins. Even in knowing how X and Magneto got to be where they are at, it is still an amazing suspension of disbelief for 2 plus hours. I didn't think the pace dragged at all.

    Yay!
     
  2. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 26, 2001
    Location:
    Ireland
    Oh, let me count the ways in which I loved this movie.

    I loved the opening scenes with Erik and Schmidt (Shaw). Little touches like Schmidt tempting him with the chocolate and pulling it away when Erik asked for his mother. I loved the brutality of Erik's mother's murder.

    I loved Erik wandering the world hunting down Schmidt/ Shaw. I loved Fassbender's Bond-like portrayal of the young Erik. I loved McAvoy's randy, chat-up line-spouting Xavier. I loved Rose Byrne in lingerie. I loved the glorious 60s outfits, not least of all on January Jones and Kevin Bacon. I loved the big Bond-like, Ken Adams-inspired sets.

    I loved Hugh Jackman's cameo - we got to hear Wolverine say the F-word - and thought Rebbeca Romjin's was an even more pleasant surprise.

    Basically, I loved everything about this movie. This wasn't the best X-Men movie since X2, it was the best one including X2. The ending to this movie had a passion and emotion that surpassed even it.

    I previously said that Thor was the superhero movie to beat this year. Well done Mr Vaughn, you have beaten the Norse god hands-down. Roll on second class.
     
  3. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I really enjoyed this film. It's easily beats out X3 and Wolverine. McAvoy, Fassbender, and Bacon were all great and were given good material to work with. The rest of the cast wasn't bad either, though most of the X-Men didn't get much to work with, besides Mystique and Beast.

    I thought the cameos were fun, the FX were good, the story well paced and I liked how they tied it to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    I didn't like that they killed off Darwin. Also didn't think that January Jones was sexy enough to be Emma Frost. She's pretty, but she doesn't radiate lust. Though Jones handled her part well enough. I was thrown off, but pleasantly surprised by the Professor X-Mystique relationship. I also like how they developed Mystique's journey, making her a pretty sympathetic character. I also like how they handled Beast, his relationship with Raven and his own self-loathing and eventual acceptance of his mutation.

    I wished more time could've been given to Angel Salvadore, Havok, Banshee, and Darwin, if nothing else to flesh out their personalities a little more. Though I know the film was about Charles and Erik and this Vaughn pulled off pretty well. I also wish there had been a reference to MLK or Malcolm X, like in the first X-film, since the events of First Class were taking place during the modern Civil Rights movement, a movement that influenced the creation of the X-Men comic.
     
  4. Aeolusdallas

    Aeolusdallas Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2008
    Got back a bit ago. It was a great film. Up there with X2. Loved the more 60's than the 60's vibe and all of the cameo's, easter eggs and homages.

    The casting was excellent and the actions scenes were very well done. It had a great balance between funny and serious.
     
  5. exodus

    exodus Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Apr 18, 2003
    Location:
    The Digital Garden
    Somethings unclear too me:
    Did Erik know Schmit/Shaw was a mutant?

    When Charles says to him: "You think all humans are like Shaw."
    I was under the impression he didn't because he never seemed surprised to discover after all these years he was.

    I'm also surprised that after Shaw killed Erik's mother, that he didn't send all those those objects in the room crashing though the glass to crush Shaw. That's some control for a kid that wasn't supposed to have it yet. :lol:
     
  6. Aeolusdallas

    Aeolusdallas Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2008
    I don't think he knew back in the 40's.
     
  7. ColeMercury

    ColeMercury Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2011
    Regarding inconsistencies with the first two or three movies -- I can only assume that a sequel would include:

    • Charles & Erik reconciling, temporarily at least
    • Them building the new, bigger, better Cerebro together
    • Finding a way for Charles to regain use of his legs for certain periods of time (hey, I had a thought -- what if in those scenes in X-Men: The Last Stand it's something as simple as metal rods down his legs & back and Erik "walking" for him?)
    • I didn't notice this myself but apparently Hank appears in human form again in the background of that end scene where Charles is in the wheelchair. So presumably they'll show he's able to shift back & forth, or at least temporarily shift back so that by the time of The Last Stand he's lost the ability and is stuck in "Beast" mode.
     
  8. T'Baio

    T'Baio Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2001
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Best superhero, comic book movie ever.

    That is all.
     
  9. Set Harth

    Set Harth Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2010
    Location:
    Annwn
    That's a bold statement.

    This film must be good...
     
  10. DarthPipes

    DarthPipes Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2006
    A fucking +! I thought the movie was outstanding. Any doubts or criticisms I had were gone after this film.

    James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender completely owned this movie. Patrick Stewart was a great choice for Xavier but they never gave the character a chance to shine in the movies. McAvoy is given that chance and excels. Fassbender is a strong Magneto and the relationship between him and Charles is convincing. In the comics, they really weren't friends for a long period of time (Uncanny X-Men #161) but it totally worked in this film.

    Kevin Bacon is an effective villain as Sebastian Shaw. I remember the character well from the comics...is his Nazi past something they created for the film? Although it's a depature from the comics, I really liked Rose Bryne as Moira. I would assume she leaves the CIA and later becomes a geneticist. Charles mind-wiping her is classic Xavier...not in a good way, of course. ;) And hey, you get to see Bryne in lingerie so that's a good thing. January Jones was fine as Emma although I'm more used to the snarky Emma now.

    I remember thinking that the X students themselves really didn't get enough time to be fleshed out but they came together well at the end. Jennifer Lawrence was terrific and Nicholas Hault was good too. The Xavier/Mystique relationship was jarring at first but again, it worked and it provided a good character arc for Mystique. We also get to see the usual suspects in military roles...Michael Ironside and Glenn Morshower. Poor Darwin...he shows the most personality of the team every on but sadly gets turned into the token black guy.

    Two of the things I was looking forward to was the 60s setting where the X-Men comic began and the "First Class" concept and those elements didn't disappoint. The FX was also very good here and the flight scenes (combat and otherwise) were very convincing. Everything came together very well to explain how Charles and Magneto became the man they were. Good twists and turns too.

    I was spoiled about the Wolverine cameo but I still loved it.

    I'm definitely very interested to see where they go from here. I'm hoping we get a new version of the "All-New, All-Different" X-Men down the line. Maybe that can involve Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Lorna Dane...hell, even Thunderbird. Every movie needs canon fodder. Just ask Darwin. ;)
     
  11. Griever

    Griever Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 22, 2003
    Location:
    Odessa, TX
    My first reaction was the same, but I'll have to watch again to make sure.
     
  12. DarthPipes

    DarthPipes Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2006
    It was always Charles who invented Cerebro in the comics. In the early issues, he was a guy who invented a lot of stuff. Starting with the All-New, All-Different team he was a guy who got a lot of stuff made by others like Tony Stark.
     
  13. Maab of the Ten Tribes

    Maab of the Ten Tribes Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2004
    Location:
    in my tent with Eleen
    Un-f'n-believable movie! A+ all the way.

    I was speechless after it was over because of how good it was. My wife looked and me and could tell my thoughts on it and said "I want to watch that again right now!".
     
  14. KB24

    KB24 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 31, 2002
    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Yeah I tried to convince my husband to go with me again tonight but my story of 5 people talking on their cell phones put him off of going to the theater on opening weekend.
     
  15. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    I'm dying here folks. Need. To. See. This. Movie. Now!!!!
     
  16. T'Baio

    T'Baio Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2001
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    As for your signature, Admiral_Young, as far as I can tell, the answer would be yes.

    Which makes X-Men: First Class all the better. Ha!
     
  17. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Location:
    Gotham
    ^ The answer has finally been given!!! ;)
     
  18. John Clark

    John Clark Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Location:
    There
    Just got back from seeing it. Thought it was very good:)
     
  19. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2003
    Location:
    Nashville,TN
    Grade: A+

    That is a grade containing no hyperbole or bias. I almost graded it an 'A' just for some inconsistencies which seem apparent now but kept the + cause they could reconcile those later somehow, someway if they choose.

    I saw it at a sold out 9:30pm show and the audience was soooo into it. When it's appropriate reactions to something on screen I'm cool. No one within earshot of me was engaged in idle chit-chat. No cell phones went off nor were illuminated. I'm inclined to think that's because people were that into the film that no distraction was needed.

    Even though I didn't know it about Darwin I had a suspicion something would happen to him since he was missing from the bulk of the tv spots. Angel I figured out as the movie went along. Is she with the Brotherhood in the books?

    Interesting choice to have Riptide in the film. I don't recall him ever being called by his codename though.

    Having Banshee in the film adds some continuity imo to the great X2 cause Siryn is in there. Now it's age appropriate that he'd be old enough to have a daughter at the school!

    Like others the Wolverine cameo had been spoiled but not the Rebecca Romijn one. As the film was playing and he said "Maybe when your older", she shifts again but is out of focus. I thought when the refocused it would be Emma, then when it was Rebecca I good portion of the audience had a positive "hey" type response.

    I caught the Storm cameo during the Cerebro hunt but missed any others.

    I know this board has a fair number of people who like, no love, Daniel Craig as James Bond and as an actor I like him as well. He's just never been an ideal Bond for me. In XM:FC when Fassbender is sneaking onto Shaw's yacht in that black dive suit, pulls out his knife and begins to search for Shaw the Bond notes just instantly started in my head. Fassbender should've been Bond. He looks it and pulls it off in a manner much more akin to Brosnan, Dalton and Connery. Oh, and that trip to Argentina, his first badass moment on screen. The trick he pulled with that knife!!! :eek:

    It would not be fair to not mention how equally great James McAvoy was as Charles. His performance was just as great as Fassbender for the character he was portraying. The nods to hair loss were nice and not overdone. His pickup lines, funny. The very serious moments between he and Erik on the Lincoln Memorial steps, at the estate and outside the CIA compound were all well scripted and acted moments for those characters. It sold that these two men did indeed share something, something special that is clearly alluded to in the first films.

    For anyone reading this far down I'll also say the movie DOES NOT give all the cool shots away in the trailers/tv spots. I had begun to worry that would be the case. It's a long movie so lots of cool still to be seen.

    How Magneto finished Shaw was AWESOME!!! It had that sting of irony to it that surpasses anything gruesome that could've been done or implemented by a lesser director/executive producer.

    The closing sequence at the credits that was done in a 60's vibe had me recalling that fan made piece for the opening credits.

    I also appreciated how the film would periodically remind you that yes, this is an era film. We got a fair amount of stock footage to help you clearly recall we were in a historical setting for this.

    I really liked THOR, gave it an A- and said that set the bar high out of the gate. First Class just "served" the next two comic book movies.

    Most of the audience applauded as the credits rolled, that happens rarely in my experience.
     
  20. DarthPipes

    DarthPipes Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2006
    I think Lorna Dane should be in the next X-Men. Think about it, she's Havok's love interest and in some of the continuity, Magneto's daughter. One thing that got lost in Magneto's origin was him having a family. It would give both the team and Magneto an emotional stake in the next film.